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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44746
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **Many of the most famous songwriters have either done _just_ lyrics or _just_ music.** It's relatively common to excel only at one or the other. Personally, I write both but I tend to prefer only doing one or the other --I find it easier to write interesting songs with a collaborator. Since this is a writing forum, I'll focus in on the lyrics, but if you want to test yourself as a composer, a good way to start is to set a favorite poem to music, or to reset an existing set of lyrics with your own tune.

As a poet, keep in mind that **most lyrics are poetic, but not all poetry makes for great lyrics**. As compared to a regular poem, lyrics tend to be more repetitive, they are typically relatively brief, and they have a strong sense of rhythm, but their meter is not necessarily regular. If the rhythm is too unvarying it makes for a boring song. Great lyrics often seem to carry their own sense of melody with them, and syllables can be elongated or compressed in a way that would sound unnatural in an ordinary poem. They MUST sound good spoken aloud, not just when read silently. Lyrics also tend to follow certain structures, but I've written a lot about that elsewhere, so I'll just [link](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/37095/difference-between-writing-song-lyrics-and-writing-poetry/37676#37676) those [answers](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/41970/what-are-some-techniques-used-to-increase-the-melodicality-of-a-lyric/41987#41987) here. Most great songs tell a story of some sort, but the storytelling tends to be compressed, elliptical and cryptic as compared to other forms.

Great poets tend to make great lyricists, but it's not an automatic transition. Like any new form, it must be mastered. **It's not unusual for new songwriters to write hundreds of songs before creating one that they like**. Paul Simon spent three years writing every night before he created "Sounds of Silence," and Paul McCartney had the tune for "Yesterday" for years before he found the right lyric.

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